King Frederik cozies up with Duchess of Edinburgh at Wimbledon two years after affair scandal that rocked Danish monarchy
The oak-lined royal box on centre court was established in 1922 and has played host to a glittering array of royals, celebrities and dignitaries in its century-long history.
The Danish monarch, 57, sat inside the box on Monday and watched on as Poland's Iga Swiatek defeated Denmark's Clara Tauson in the fourth round.
At one point, Frederik was photographed warmly embracing the Duchess of Edinburgh with a kiss on the cheek before they took their seats in the same row.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have longstanding ties to both Mary and Frederik and attended their 2004 fairytale wedding in Copenhagen on behalf of the Queen.
Both Sophie and Mary hailed from similar middle class backgrounds and had their own careers before marrying into royalty in their early 30s.
In 2016, Sophie invited Tasmanian-born Mary to join her in the carriage procession during an appearance at Royal Ascot.
Meanwhile, Frederik's mother Queen Margrethe was one of Queen Elizabeth II's dearest friends.
Frederik and Sophie were joined by Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester who also has a special link to the Danish King.
The Duchess of Gloucester is Danish by birth and met her future husband Prince Richard while working as a secretary in the Danish embassy in London.
The royal-studded appearance comes days after a palace insider claimed that King Charles is pushing for changes to the protocol surrounding the historic royal box.
According to The Daily Mail's Royal Editor Rebecca English, King Charles directly appealed to the All England Lawn Tennis Club to allow his former sister-in-law Fergie into the box.
"I think it shows a sign of how magnanimous King Charles has been,' Ms English said on Sunday.
'He's made it clear that he will continue his mother's attempts to bring (Fergie) slightly more back into the royal fold."
The Duchess of York sat in the box alongside her daughter Princess Eugenie last week for the first time since 1990.
Ferguson had previously been forced to sit with the general public at Wimbledon following her 1996 divorce from Prince Andrew.
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The Age
an hour ago
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